World news is the general term for news coverage of international issues or events. At the birth of modern journalism, when nation-states were still in their infancy, many newspapers were devoted entirely to foreign news and were sometimes known as “foreign courants,” such as the Daily Courant (England), the Nieuwe Tijudinger or the Relation oder Zeitung (both of which were published in 17th century Europe). Later, with the advent of telecommunications, specialized press agencies such as Agence France-Presse, Reuters or Wolff began to provide a regular supply of hard news stories, often with little or no modification, for use by other news organizations.
In addition to hard news, world news often includes more off-beat stories or satire. A notable example of this is the Weekly World News, a tabloid whose outlandish and often pseudoscientific cover stories verged on the satirical, which was in part responsible for its widespread popularity. Its distinctive black-and-white covers, which featured such headlines as “Alien Cannibals Float Through Manhattan” and the aforementioned “Bat Boy,” are now pop-culture images.
The first issue of the Weekly World News was published on February 15, 1979 and ceased printing in 2007 due to financial problems. The tabloid later expanded to a television show and then to the Internet, and continues as an online publication with a subscription service.
Founded in 1981, WORLD (formerly titled WORLD News Group) is an independent media company that provides news and information about world issues and Christian faith with a global perspective. The organization also offers a training program for journalists interested in reporting news from a Christian perspective.